The HATS Manual

HATS is an innovative, community-based health promotion program for seniors.

Based on the Action Theatre community education model, this award-winning program is administered by St. Christopher House, a United Way Agency in Toronto, Canada. The program is unique in a number of ways:

• It is community-based. The development of the program is based on feedback from the community. The collective group comes up with the scenarios that need to be discussed and the solutions to issues depicted in the plays.



• It is culturally-sensitive. The mime format transcends linguistic and cultural barriers.



• It is educational. The theatre format allows for discussion and exploration of possible solutions to different health and social anti-models.



• It is participatory. HATS is performed by senior volunteers. Both the audience and the performers actively participate and gain from their involvement.



• It is targeted to seniors from different cultural and linguistic groups.



• It has far-ranging impact ("ripple effects").This program promotes the adaptation and replication of its success in order to explore additional issues, and to reach other cultural groups.